Cabinet with upfolding door



Aug. 26, 1958 A. D. WARNOCK CABINET' WITH UPFOLDING DOOR Filed Aug. 9,1956 /7 gi 4. I J w.

III/IL INVENTOR f 4/ 0. l f wwack A rroelvEK 2,849,270 CABINET WITHUPFOLDING DOOR Aln D. Warnock, Atchison, Kans. Application August 9,1956, Serial No. 603,039 Claims. (Cl. 312-.-328) This invention relatesto storage cabinets such as those employed in kitchens and the like, andrefers more particularly to an improved cabinet having an upfoldingsectional door.

An object of the invention is to provide a cabinet of the characterdescribed provided with an upfolding door which is yieldably biased inthe closed position, and in which the biasing means is operable uponopening of the door to yieldably maintain the door in open position. Afeature of the invention resides in the provision of biasing means whichis operable in the transition of the door from closed to open positionto aid in moving the door to the open position following the initialphase of the opening operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet assembly whichis especially suitable for providing in.- creased storage space abovedrainboards or work tables. By my invention 1 provide a cabinet whichhas an inclined face providing ample head room above the drainboard ortable while still presenting shelves within the cabinet easilyaccessible from a standing position on the floor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cabinet having anupfolding door biased in closed and open positions and in which thebiasing means is so arranged as to interfere as little as possible withthe storage of articles within the cabinet. A feature of the inventionin this respect isthat' the force exerted by the biasing means.

on the door can be quickly and easily adjusted as tostrength and thatthe point of transition of the force from. one tending to maintain thedoor closed to one tending to maintain thee door open can be changedthrough a simple adjustment.

Still another object of the invention-is to provide a cabinet and doorconstruction of the character described which employs a small number ofmoving parts, in which the door is smooth and positive in operation,which is pleasing in appearance and whichcan be manufactured. at lowcost.

Other and further objects of the invention together with the features ofnovelty appurtenant thereto will appear during the course of thefollowing description.

In. the accompanying drawings which forma part ofthe specification and"are to be read in conjunction; therewith, and in which lilg: referencenumerals indicate like parts in the various views:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a portion of. av cab.-. inetassembly employing a cabinet and door construction embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view of a cabinet and. doorconstruction embodying the invention. taken along the line 2-2- of Fig.l in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the door in itsopen position, only the upper portionof the cabinet being shown andparts being broken away to indicate length;

Fig. 4 is an enlargedsectional view taken along; the; line 4--4 of Fig.2' in thedirection of the arrows.-

2,849,270 Patented Aug. 26, 195,8

Referring to the drawings, in Fig. l I have shown a typical kitchencabinetassembly in which is embodied a slant-frontcabinetconsttructedaccording to the, principles ofmy invention. As is conventional in suchassemblies there is provided a drain'board or working area 10 belowwhich is the conventional storage area equipped with a swinging door 11-and drawers 12. The cabinet assembly is backed against the room wall 13.At the very top of the assembly is an upper storage area 14 having doors15.

The lower and upper storage areas, as well as drainboard 10, areconventional in construction and since their details play no part in myinvention they will not be described further except asto such partsthereof which are utilized in the preferred'embodimentof my inventionhereinafter set forth.

That section of the cabinet assembly in which is embodied the featuresof my invention is located directly below the upper storage area 14 andis shown in side section in Fig, 2. For purposes of illustration, I haveshown a cabinet having three doors arranged side by side, only a portionof the third, door being visible. The doors are identical inconstruction and comprise an upper panel 16.and'a lower panel 17connected therewith in a manner later to be described. In Fig. 1 theleftmost door is shown as closed, the center door as open, and the righthand door (only a fragment of which is shown) as in. an. intermediateposition between fully open and fully closed,

Referring to Fig. 2, in the illustrated example the 'bottomof the slantfront cabinet is indicated at 18 and the back wall at 19. The back wallmay be secured to the room wall 13. in the usual fashion. Located withinthe, cabinet and extending from back to front are spaced horiaontalshelves S which are graduated in depth to provide a cabinet with aninclined front profile. The shelvesare supported within the cabinet inany suitable fashion, for example, by rails 20 at each end which aresecured to the end walls 21 in the usual manner. The floor 22 of theupper storage area 14 bounds the slant front cab? inet on the top and itwill be noted that, a molding 23' extends therebelow to provide a frontsill.

The upper edge of the upper door panel 16 is pivoted to sill 23. bymeans of a continuous hinge 24 having one leaf 24a secured to the edgeof the sill by screws 25 (see Fig. 3),. It will be noted that the edgeof the sill is v inclined inwardly and upwardly from the front. Theother leaf 24b: of the hinge is secured to a block 26 ex tending acrossthe top and 'back of panel 16.

It will be understood at this point that the panels 16 and 17 preferablyare of the framed panel type, each havi 8. a face Sheet bord red aroundits edges on the inside with frame members defining a rectangular frame.In the case of the upper panel 16, the block 26 serves as the top fr memember. The side frame members of theupper panel are indicated at 27 andthe bottom frame member at 28. On the lower panel the side frame membersare at- 29, the top frame member at 30 and the bottom. frame member at31. The panel facing sheet is se cured to these frame members in eachcase by a suitable adhesive or other means. On the lower panel 17 thereisprovided a handle 17a.

Thelower panel, 17 is connected with the upper panelby means of a hinge32 located on the inside of the door, the leaves of hinge 32 beingsecured respectively to the. bottom frame member 28 on the upper paneland the top frame member 30 on the lower panel. The axis of hinge, 32is, of. course, parallel with the axis of hinge 24 at the top, of the,upper panel.

Arranged along the opposite side edges of the door are jambs 33 whichextend on an incline from the bottom of thecabinet to the sill 23 at thetop. Preferably jambs 33 are secured firmly to the sill and bottom tohold them rigid. Each is provided with an elongate groove or trough 33arunning the length thereof parallel to the plane of the door and facingthe side edges. As is best seen in Fig. 4, grooves 33a provide slidableguideways for guide members 34. In their preferred form, the guidemembers 34 comprise blocks of wood of a size to slidably fit within theguideways. The opposite sides of the lower panels 17 are secured nearthe bottom thereof to the guide members 34 by laterally projecting pins35. Preferably the pins are secured in each case between the confrontingfaces of side frame members 29 and a clamping block 36 secured firmly tothe frame member by screws such as at 36a (Fig. 4). Pins 35are'rotatably received in suitable apertures in guide members 34 therebypermitting relative pivotal movement between the lower panels 17 and theguide members.

Returning now to the upper portion of the cabinet and referring again toFigs. 2 and 3, secured to block 26 at its approximate longitudinalcenter is an L-shaped bracket 37 having a projecting leg or extension37a. The bracket is secured to the top face of block 26 by screws 37b.Pivotally connected with the end of the projecting leg or extension 37ais a thrust member generally indicated at 39. As shown in detail in Fig.3, thrust member 39 comprises a rod 40 having an eye 40a at its frontend to provide the pivotal connection with leg 37a of the bracket. Theother end of rod 40 is telescopically received in a sleeve 41 whichabuts and rests against the back wall 19 of the cabinet. That end of rod40 contained within sleeve 41 is spaced from the end of the sleeve so asto permit, under conditions later to be described, longitudinal movementof rod 40 toward back wall 19. Preferably the end of sleeve 41 is seatedin one of the plurality of vertically spaced recesses 42 formed in wall19. These recesses are slightly greater in diameter than the diameter ofthe sleeve to permit pivotal movement of the sleeve about the point ofcontact of the sleeve with the wall.

Rod 40 is continuously urged outward of sleeve 41 by means of a helicalcompressed spring 43 which encircles the rod and abuts at one endagainst the outer end of the sleeve. The other end of spring 43 isretained by a retaining and compression adjusting nut 44 which isthreaded onto a correspondingly threaded portion of the rod 40 near itsouter end.

From the description thus far it will be evident that when the door isin the closed position (the position illustrated in solid lines inFig. 1) the thrust member 39 exerts a force on bracket extension 37atending to turn the upper panel 16 in a counter-clockwise directionabout its hinge 24. A stop block 45 is secured to the inside face of theupper panel in position to engage a forward edge of one of the shelves,thus resisting the turning moment and indexing the upper panel in itsclosed position. The lower panel 17 is coplanar with the upper panel andthe guide members 34 are at the lower ends of guideway 33a. The thrustmember 39 thus yieldably maintains the door in its closed position.

When it is desired to open the door, one need only grasp the handle 17aand exert an outward pull thereon. This pull imposes a clockwise turningmoment on upper panel 16 and if sufiicient to overcome the resistance ofspring 42 on thrust member 39 will cause the upper panel to swingoutwardly and upwardly while at the same time folding the lower paneltoward the upper panel and causing guide members 34 to ride upwardly inguideways 33a. The relative movement between the two panels and thethrust member during opening is illustrated in Fig. 2 where anintermediate position and the fully opened position are illustrated inbroken lines and indicated respectively by primes and double primes onthe pertinent reference numerals.

During the initial stage of the opening operation the thrust member 39will continue to resist opening of the '4 door. However, as the bracket37 and its extension 371; turn about the axis of hinge 24 the point ofconnection of rod 40 with extension 37a passes through a line drawnbetween the hinge axis and the seated end of sleeve 41 and thereafterexerts a turning moment on the upper panel which tends to raise it tothe fully opened position illustrated in solid lines in Fig. 3. Thelimit of upward movement of the panels is determined by the engagementof the lower panel 17 with the free edge of block 26 as shown in Fig. 3.When the panels are in the fully opened position (illustrated in Fig. 3)the thrust member 39 will yieldably maintain them in this position andarticles can be placed upon and removed from the shelves withoutrequiring any additional support for the door to hold it open.

When it is desired to close the door, a downward pull sufficient toovercome the resistance of thrust member 39 is imposed on handle 17a.This causes the lower panel 17 to move downwardly and inwardly, the pathof the panel being guided by the slidable cooperation between guidemembers 34 and guideways 33a in jambs 33. Since the lower panel 17 islinked through hinge 32 to the upper panel 16, the upper panel is turnedcounterclockwise about the axis of its hinge 24. As the panels approachthe closed, fully extended position, thrust member 39 moves upwardlythrough the line between the hinge axis and the seated end of the sleeveand thereafter exerts a moment tending to return the door toward itsclosed position as previously described.

The force exerted by the thrust member 39 can be increased or decreasedby adjustment of nut 44 inwardly or outwardly on rod 40 which changesthe length of spring 43. Adjustment of the point of transition of thethrust member through the neutral condition can be had by moving sleeve40 to one of the other recesses 42, as will be evident.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have accomplished all of theends and objects hereinbefore set forth. By providing the cabinet with adownwardly receding face the cabinet can be disposed much lower inrelation to the drainboard 10 than in the case of conventional cabinets,thereby providing greater shelf space at the most convenient height. Intheir open position the upfolding doors are completely out of the wayand the contents of the cabinets are readily accessible and fullyexposed to view, even in multiple installation. This is a distinctadvantage over conventional cabinets having vertically hinged or slidingdoors. The doors are positively seated in both the open and closedposition and there is no danger of striking the head against them whenin the open position. They are easily opened and closed and smooth andsilent in operation.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forthtogether with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a cabinet assembly, the combination of a cabinet structure havingan opening in the front and a back wall spaced rearwardly of saidopening, said opening being defined by parallel upright jambs and anupper edge and a lower edge, the front being inclined with respect tothe back wall so that the jambs are furthest from the back wall at theirupper ends and the closet at their lower ends, an upfolding doornormally disposed in said opening and comprising a pair of normallycoplanar panels hingedly connected with one another along a horizontalaxis intermediate the upper and lower edges of said opening, meanspivotally mounting the upper edge of the uppermost panel to said cabinetstructure for swinging movement about a horizontal axis thereby toprovide for outward and upward movement of said panel with respect tosaid opening, cooperating guide means connecting the lower end of thelowermost panel with said jambs and providing for free movement of thelower end of the lowermost panel upwardly parallel to the jambs as theupper panel is swung outwardly and upwardly thereby to cause the insideface of the lower panel to fold toward the inside face of the upperpanel, a lever arm secured to said upper panel and extending inwardlyand upwardly within said cabinet, a telescopic thrust member having oneend pivotally supported against said back wall and extending forwardlyto pivotally connect at its other end with said lever arm at a pointabove the level of the pivot axis of said upper panel, said thrustmember being yieldably biased in an extended position and normallyexerting a turning moment on said upper panel tending to maintain saidpanel in said normal position and resist outward swinging thereof, saidthrust member operable to shift during outward swinging of said upperpanel to a position in which it imposes a turning moment on said firstpanel tending to swing said panel outwardly and yieldably maintain saiddoor in open position.

2. A cabinet as in claim 1 wherein means are provided for adjustment ofthe position of said one end of said thrust member either upwardly ordownwardly on the back wall.

3. A cabinet as in claim 1 wherein said thrust member comprises asleeve, a thrust rod telescopically received in said sleeve, and a coilspring encircling the rod and connected at one end with the rod and atthe other with the sleeve.

4. A cabinet as in claim 3 wherein the connection of the spring with therod in adjustable longitudinally of the rod to vary the resistance toturning of the upper panel.

5. In a cabinet assembly, the combination of a cabinet structure havingan opening in the front and a back wall spaced rearwardly of saidopening, said opening being defined by parallel upright jambs and anupper edge and a lower edge, an upfolding sectional door normallydisposed in said opening and comprising a pair of normally coplanarpanels hingedly connected with one another along a horizontal axisintermediate the upper and lower edges of said opening, means pivotallymounting the upper edge of the uppermost panel to said cabinet structureabout a horizontal axis thereby to provide for swinging movement of saidupper panel outwardly and upwardly with respect to said opening,cooperating guide means connecting the lower end of the lowermost panelwith'said jambs and providing for free movement of the lower end of thelowermost panel upwardly parallel to the jambs as the upper panel isswung outwardly and upwardly thereby to cause the inside face of thelower panel to fold toward the inside face of the upper panel, a leverarm secured to said upper panel and extending inwardly and upwardlywithin said cabinet, a telescopic thrust member arranged in the upperportion of the cabinet with one end adjacent and pivotally supported onthe back wall and having its other end pivotally connected with saidlever arm, said thrust member including means for yieldably biasing ittoward an extended position whereby it continually exerts a pressure onsaid lever arm, and, when said upper panel is in said normal position,produces a turning moment on said upper panel resisting outward swingingthereof, said thrust member being so arranged with respect to the pivotaxis of the upper panel as to be shifted during outward swinging of saidupper panel through a neutral position to a position in which ityieldably resists the return of the panel to its normal position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS746,758 Stiggleman Dec. 15, 1903 1,625,006 Wattawa Apr. 19, 19272,038,035 Friedrich Apr. 21, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 12,073 Austria June10, 1903 85.734 Norwav June 20 1955

